Page 41 of Legendary

We placed our weapons against the wall and plopped down on the couch beside her, while Reese wormed his way to the spot closest to her. Dani sauntered over to the other couch, sitting as far away from Elise as possible. Leah took notice of their distance. “Ah, still making friends so easily, are we?” Her question was directed towards Elise, who gave her a forced fake smile.

Leah morphed her face into a serious one. “Alright now, what brings you here of all places?”

“Beetee sent us here becauseshethought you would be able to help us,” I answered.

Leah placed her hands in her lap. “That I am aware of. I’m just unsure ofhow I’m meant to help you.”

Elise rolled her eyes. “Well, youandGarrett obviously.”

Reese cleared his throat. “Is Garrett your boyfriend?”

Dani snorted. “Wow, you’re subtle.”

Leah looked over at Reese, eyeing him up and down before pressing her lips together trying not to laugh. “Husband, actually.” He wasn’t wrong, she was beautiful, but I had a feeling Reese was starting to have a thing for unavailable women. I, on the other hand, seemed to only have eyes for one person in particular.

I ran a hand through my hair, knowing that I needed to be the one to get this back on track. “So, you’re Enchanters who live in a rock? A glamoured rock, clearly.” I really didn’t know how else to start.

Leah laughed a little but nodded. “Yes, Garrett and I made this place a safe haven after we fled from Lilith. We settled at Beetee’s hostel for a good while, but then needed a place of our own. I’m skilled in glamour magic, thanks to Moira.”

“So, you were well acquainted with Natalia’s mom?” Dani inquired.

“We weren’t best friends, but I could talk to her about most things and her daughter was the sweetest thing. That war ruined everything for a lot of people.”

“But you left Oculus willingly. You went with Lilith on your own accord.” Dani pointed out.

Leah sighed. “Yes, yes, I know. Isaac was attacking and Lilith was so tempting. I was younger then and that’s no excuse, but an Enchanter's powers are everything to them and he wanted to remove them from us all because of something that we had nothing to do with. If you had been there, you would have seen so much blood from people I knew and spent time with and Lilith…she said things in such a way that made you forget who she was. We had seen demons come and go for so long, maybe she had changed. It sounds so stupid now.”

“I guess I can understand doing what felt right in the moment,” I said, absentmindedly placing my hand on her knee.

“I do hope that Moira forgave me in her last moments, well, forgave all of us really.” Her eyes were a little glassy, like she was trying her hardest to keep it together.

“How do you know that Moira passed?” I asked.

Leah smiled at me thoughtfully. “Enchanters know when their High Priestess passes over and a new one comes into power. That sweet girl must be a powerful thing now isn’t she?”

“You fucking bet,” Reese said, whistling.

Leah quickly wiped her eyes and rolled her shoulders as she sat up straighter. “I’m sorry to turn this into such a somber moment. Now what do you want to know?”

“We saw plenty of Enchanters at the hostel, none of which went through the trouble of doing all this, so I don’t understand. Why go to these lengths?” I asked, leaning in so I could focus on her response.

“Lilith doesn’t go searching much for things and people she doesn’t need. The forest will take you if you aren’t careful, or the hellhounds will from what I’ve heard. This place can smell fear in great detail and misguided confidence does not get you far. Many demons left because they were infuriated by her anti-aging curse which she then topped with her cease in procreation curse as well. Any demon who showed any resistance to her was eliminated and well, that lit a fire under some, but others were terrified of her and had no means of fighting back. Garrett and I fled from her castle on the hill and never looked back. Once Lilith started preparing for Isabel’s power ascension, Garrett wanted us to leave since he knew I would be one of the unlucky ones to have to give my powers to her. That and uh, after…. everything...”

“Everything?” Reese raised a blonde eyebrow.

Leah looked down at the ground and the room was quiet for a moment. “We have quite a history with Lilith which I assume is the reason why Beetee sent you here. Most Enchanters that have encountered Lilith had been with her for small periods of time and then saw her for what she was, especially with her favoritism towards Isabel. I mean frankly, she only really wanted them for their magic in the end and some were so desperate to get out of this place that they offered it up willingly. Garrett and I, we…she had different plans for us. We thought we had to stay for survival’s sake especially after—” She flicked one of her braids over her shoulder and took in a deep breath.

“After I killed you.”

All of our eyes went to Elise who sat back on the couch, unapologetically.

Leah licked her lips. “Yes, after you killed me.”

“Woah, what the fuck, shouldn’t you be dead then?” Dani asked.

“I’m sorry, you killed her?” Reese nearly stuttered.

Elise rolled her eyes. “Not on purpose, well, okay on purpose, but like it was an order. Do with that what you will.”

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